Get The Nets Out

This is our chance to stop fixed netters illegally targeting bass.

Please send an email to your MP by typing your postcode in the box below. Once you have your MP’s details select the ‘send an email to you MP’ button, copy and paste the email text into the body of your email and add your name at the bottom.

The only people who can now legally target bass are sea anglers and commercial hook and liners – the most sustainable stakeholders, yielding the greatest social and economic benefits.

However, the bass stock is still currently below a safe level and a number of commercial fixed netters have been illegally targeting bass and landing them, abusing their “unavoidable by-catch only” allowance.

The EU Commission has responded by proposing to extend to fixed netters the law that currently applies to bottom trawlers: bass landings to be restricted to 1% of their daily catch. This is an excellent proposal, the last piece of the jigsaw needed to deliver a sustainable bass fishery for future generations. But it needs to be tweaked to perhaps 10% of daily catch, to avoid discarding of bass legitimately caught as bycatch by fixed nets in a mixed fishery.

Unfortunately, Defra is intending to oppose the EU Commission’s proposal because Defra has never really accepted the EU law and policy that fixed netters should not be allowed to target bass. Challenging the EU Commission’s proposal is effectively saying “we support fixed netters illegally targeting bass” – not an attractive position for the Government to be taking. Defra points to fixed netting landings having reduced to 80 tonnes, but this simply does not address the matter of stopping the illegal activity that is taking place..

I should be very grateful indeed if you would:

discuss this matter with George Eustice prior to the 17 December Fishing Opportunities meeting in Brussels and seek to persuade him that the UK should not be trying to subvert a previously agreed policy decision and should be supporting measures to stop illegal bass fishing activity; and

raise this issue at the annual Fisheries Debate.

Thank you very much for your help.

Yours sincerely,

[ Insert your full name ] *

[ Insert your address ] *

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